Mail-bag catcher and deliverer.



w. 0. SMITH. I MAIL BAG CATCHER AND DELIVERER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2,1915.

1,177,453. Patented Mar. 28,1916.

rm; COLUMBEA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, D. c.

WILLIAM D. SMITH, OF TBENTON, NEW JERSEY.

MAIL-BAG CATCI-IER AND DELIVERER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented DIar, 28 1916.

Application filed November 2, 1915. Serial No.59,276.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, YVILLIAM D. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Trenton, in the county of Mercer and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchersand Deliverers; and I do herebyr declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

The invention relates to improvements in mail bag catchers anddelivering devices.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofmail bagcatchers and delivering devices and to provide a simple,practical and comparatively inexpensive mail bag catcher and deliveringdevice adapted to support a mail bag in position to be caught by thefork or other device of a train and capable of automatically swinging amail bag catcher in position for removing the mail bag of a train fromthe same after the first mentioned mail has been.

caught by the train.

WVith these and other objects in view the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterfully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointedout in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that variouschanges in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may beresorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a front elevation of a mail bag catcher anddelivering device constructed in accordance with this invention, Fig. 2is a side elevation of the same partly in section, Fig. 3 is a planview.

Like numerals of reference designate cor responding parts in the severalfigures of the drawing.

In the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated the preferredembodiment of the invention, the mail bag catcher and delivering devicecomprises in its construction upper and lower mail bag supporting arms 1and 2 pivotally mounted on a post 3 and provided at their outer endswith laterally projecting lugs or supports 4 adapted to receive a mailbag 5. The arms 1 and 2are provided with upper and lower pivots 6 and 7and they are automatically swung upwardly and downwardly away from eachother by upper and lower coiled springs 9 secured'at their lower ends tothe post and connected-at their upper ends with the upper and lower armsin rear and in advance of the pivots thereof respectively. The upper armis provided with a rearwardly projectinglug 10 extending beyond thepivot and enabling the upper spring with a downward pull to swing theupper arm upwardly away from the lower arm when the mail bag is removedfrom the said arms 1 and 2. The

lower spring is located below the lower arm and is adapted to swing thesame downwardly.

The upper pivot 6 of the arm 1 is provided at its end opposite that atwhich the arm 1 is located with a ratchet wheel or member 11 and itsupports an arm 12 carrying a hook 13 for catching the mail bag of acar. The hook 13 is, formed on the outer end of a rod 14 slidablymounted in guides or eyes 7 15 of the arm 12 and provided at the inneror upper end with a tooth 16 for engaging the ratchet wheel or member11. The arm 12 is arranged in a depending vertical position when the arm1 is in a horizontal position supporting the mail bag 5 and the coiledspring 17 is interposed between the lower ear or eye 15 and a pin 18 ofthe rod 1% for urging the same upwardly into engagement with the ratchetwheel. By this construction the depending arm 12 is connected with theratchet wheel and when the mail bag 5 is removed by the device of a carthe arml will be swung upwardly by its spring and the depending arm 12will be elevated from a depending vertical position to a projectinghorizontal position with the hook 13 in position for engaging the mailbag of a car. As soon as the hook 13 engages the mail bag of the car,the rod 14 will be withdrawn from engagement with the ratchet wheel andthe arm 12 will swing downward automatically under the weight of suchmail bag. In the operation of the device, the mail bag thereof is put onthe train at the first door of a mail car and thehook 13 takes a mailsack or bag from the second door of the mail car.

The-ratchet mechanism of the mail bag catcher enables the arm 12 to beoperated to swing the upper arm downwardly in reset-1 ting the deliverydevice.

What is claimed is r 1. A device of the class described including upperand lower pivctally mounted spring actuated arms provided with means forsupporting a mailbag, the upper arm being provided with a ratchetmember, a pivotally mounted mail catcher arm provided said pivot and aspring actuated hook carried by the mail catcher arm and having a toothfor engaging the ratchet wheel whereby the mail bag catcher arm. will beswung up wardly into position when the spring actuated arm is released.

8. A device of theclass described including a support, upper and lowermail bag supporting arms, theupper mail bag sup portingarm'being'provided with a pivot mounted on the said support, meansforautomatically swinging. the. upper arm: up-' wardly when the same .isreleased by'a mail bag, a ratchet wheel mounted onthe said! pivct, amail bag. catcher arm. also mounted 1 on'the said pivot and dependingtherefrom when the upper arm'is in'its supporting .po:

sition, a spring actuated rod 5 or member mounted on the malllbagcatcher 'arm and engaging the ratchet wheel whereby the mail bagcatcher arm will be automatically swung upwardly when the said upperarm+isE released, said rod i or memberbemg provided with means forcatching a mall-bag,

In testimony whereof ?I .afiix my signature. 7

in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM DJ SMITILi Witnesses:

THERESA B. FISH, THERESA H. HOGAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each,lay-addressing the .Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

